The Working Lunch

The country is slowly reopening but a patchwork of state and local guidelines is making it rough going for operators. We’ll discuss that and additional challenges around rehiring, liability and delivery. And the First of May brings us May Day - a traditional day of action for labor groups. We’ll discuss why the pandemic may make this year’s edition look and feel a little different. And the politics of COVID-19 continue to amaze. This week, the CDC issued strong guidelines calling for both business owners and consumers to utilize single-use plastics, effectively reversing a decade of gains by the environmental community. We’ll take a look at that development. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The Small Business Administration and other agencies are quickly releasing new rules, regulations and other guidance around the Paycheck Protection Program following public backlash over the perception that large companies were receiving more than their fair share. We’ll discuss the political situation and what we think is potentially unfair vilification of some employers who thought they were playing by the rules. And “re-opening the economy” - whatever that means - is at the top of the priority list. We’ll discuss what guidance the White House is giving as well as the direction some governors are taking. And the crisis has given new momentum to employee activism and business leaders are listening. Could this be the opportunity that the labor community has been waiting for? We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

While the COVID-19 crisis has disrupted many business models, even destroyed some, it's also offered up new opportunities for the industry to leverage its political capital to force systemic changes long desired by the industry - namely around pushing back against the third-party delivery platforms and the delivery of alcohol. We’ll discuss those possibilities. And the President is vigorously advocating for the reopening of the economy. We don’t know when that will actually happen but what we do know is that things will look very different - especially with regard to worker protections, benefits, and what being “essential workers” entails. We’ll kick that around as well. And Ashley Coneff, the Director of Government Affairs for Dunkin' Brands, stops by the pod to discuss how her company is managing the crisis with particular focus on what they are doing around worker safety and community outreach. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Congress is attempting to shore up the Paycheck Protection Program by infusing an additional $250 Billion into the program. But no good deed goes unpunished in Washington and partisan politics have bogged down the effort. We’ll discuss the legislative prospects for more assistance and what changes may happen with the program. And while we are focused on the now, we can’t lose sight of what's coming down the road. The future of employee benefits almost assuredly involves some type of portability and we’ll discuss whether the business community will lead that conversation or get run over by it. And it's the end of an era. The final Presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders has come to an end. We’ll talk about his impact on the current debates around our industry, his potential future impact, and who will be the new standard bearer for his agenda. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The CARES ACT is now the law of the land and while the rulemaking process is underway, guidance from the agencies is coming out by the day. We’ll discuss the Small Business Administration loan programs and what operators will need to know as the program goes live. And the labor community is staying active - now targeting Amazon, Instacart and other entities in the supply chain arguing for greater worker protections during the health crisis. We’ll take a look at that. And a new survey by Edelman suggests that consumers are not only comforted by Corona-related messaging from their favorite brands, there also appears to be an expectation of it. We’ll kick that around as well. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Congress passed the largest relief package in American history this week to address the economic crisis brought on by the health crisis. We’ll take a look at what’s in for operators and what’s coming down the pike next. And no matter what the crisis, restaurant owners always meet the challenge. We’ll talk about how the industry is coming to the aid of their communities in this time of need. And with the economy in turmoil, regulators and especially Attorneys General are on the hunt for bad actors who might be exploiting the situation. We’ll discuss that as well. We’ll have those stories and wrap it up with an obviously abbreviated legislative scorecard.

We have three important guests joining the pod today and they will share their expertise and insights on the crisis at hand. Mike Whatley from the National Restaurant Association will update us on how the industry is managing through the public policy aspects of the crisis and how they are interacting with lawmakers at all levels of government to protect the industry. And Chris Burgoyne from the American Hotel & Lodging Association will join us to discuss the challenges facing that part of the hospitality sector, the latest on what is happening on Capitol Hill and what we can expect going forward. And Michael Halen from Bloomberg Finance stopped by the pod to discuss the current and future financial status of the industry and the grim challenges being faced by corporate leaders across the industry. We’ll discuss all of that and look ahead to what may be coming next.

We’re going to talk Corona - what’s going on at the state and federal level, what’s going on with major operators, and more importantly, what we think is coming next with this very serious national challenge. And Lynn Minges, the head of the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association stops by the pod to talk about how her state is navigating the corona waters as well as some other legislative challenges heading her way. We’ll kick that around as well. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

Well, it’s official now. We are all freaking out about the Coronavirus - and rightfully so. Consumers, employers, employees and markets are getting extremely nervous and trying to figure out what they should be doing next and, of course, not doing. We’ll talk about the challenges to operators as they try to navigate some increasingly dangerous waters. And a new study is out from the Pew Research Center that says the vast majority of young people - our employees in other words - think the economic system is rigged for the wealthy few. How can we be an “industry of opportunity” if the vast majority of our workforce doesn’t see it the same way. We’ll talk about that. And Super Tuesday is over - and so are the candidacies of Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren. How will a two-man race between Biden and Sanders impact operators and the stock market? We’ll kick that around as well. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.

The labor community has intensified its efforts to get a foothold in the restaurant industry. The target? Airports and the concessionaires who operate there. We’ll discuss the status of their campaign and how brands need to prepare. And big companies across the business spectrum are pulling out of longtime trade association relationships over disputes in issue management strategies. How can traditional trade associations address the changing marketplace of public affairs issue management? And non-disclosure agreements with regard to sexual harassment are at the center of the Democratic primary contest. What does the escalation of the conversation mean to large employers and how they should prepare. We’ll talk about those stories and wrap it up with the legislative scorecard.